GamingDaily was a fantastic website, where I learned a lot about games writing. Many brilliant writers got their start here, and I was very lucky to be able to work with some of them for a time.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, it was shut down. Much like this very blog has lay dormant for an age. So, in an effort to bring myself back into writing, I’m going to post some of my favourite things that I wrote from way back in the day.

Up first: My preview of Hotline Miami, from the very first time I played it. Warning – i may have done some swears.

Sadly, nothing in life is perfect and so, being that it occured in real life, neither was this weekend’s Rezzed convention. I’ve already written about some of the things I enjoyed, but I do need to get a few gripes off my chest.

So, I just picked up the final results for my degree. I’ll probably write more on my thoughts about the university process as a whole fairly soon, so I won’t elaborate too much here, but suffice to say that I’m in the best mood I’ve been in for a long time.

What this means is that I’ll have a lot more time for writing, which is something I’m hoping to do a lot more of. My first new piece is a review of Quantum Conundrum, the new game from the lead designer of the original Portal. Check it out here over on Gaming Daily. If it’s not up when this post goes out, it should be fairly soon afterwards.

Otherwise, this is just a quick post to say that I’m back, and there should be a lot more content coming from the idea factory in my head pretty soon. Til then, much love.

Well, the news is out. Team Fortress 2, Valve’s long-running team-based shooter, is now 100% free to play.

All you have to do is create a Steam account – again, totally free – and you’ll have full access to every class, every map and all the unlockable weapons. The news comes alongside the Uber Update, which unveils the Meet The Medic video, as well as a new set of weapons (and hats) for all classes except the Engineer.

Here’s a situation you don’t encounter every day: You – yes, you – can make Portal 2 come out sooner than originally intended. How? By collecting potatoes, of course. Valve’s latest marketing stunt is nearing its conclusion, and you can help.